Climate activists in Rome turn waters of landmark Baroque fountain black
- Activists from the anti-climate change organisation Last Generation poured a vegetable-based carbon liquid into the 17th-century fountain on Saturday
- Police escorted the activists away from the fountain. The protest is part of a series of actions across Europe to focus attention on climate change
Climate activists in Italy turned a Baroque-style fountain at the foot of Rome’s Spanish Steps black on Saturday, in a protest they said evoked an “end of the world” scenario.
The fountain, in the shape of a boat, was designed by famed Italian sculptor Pietro Bernini.
Popular tradition has it that he was inspired by the discovery in 1598 of a boat in the square after it was washed inland by a flooding Tiber river, Last Generation said.
Turning the water black “foreshadows the ‘end of the world’ scenario we are heading for, as we increasingly step on the accelerator: drought alternating with devastating floods, which will put an end to life on Earth, along with heatwaves”, it said in a statement.
Activists have thrown soup, cake, mashed potatoes or washable paint at heritage and culture sites and artworks in museums.